Hackers Are Taking Over Your SIM Card and Personal Phone Number

Different services have started using your mobile phone number as a way to authenticate your identity. Whether you’re calling in to pay your bill or receiving a two-factor authorization code via text message, your number is shared frequently, which is a security weakness. Because of this new way to verify your accounts, you may not realize your SIM card is also at risk. You see, hackers have a little secret —  hijacking your SIM card is surprisingly easy and it doesn’t have to be in a hacker’s greedy hands for them to take it over.

It’s critical to ensure that not only does your SIM card remain protected, but also your data. One solution is dfndr security, which allows you to secure apps on your device and includes an advanced protection feature if your device is ever lost or stolen. With the advanced protection feature activated, hackers aren’t able to remove the dfndr security program without authentication, which means your personal information is kept safe.

Read More: What to Do After You’ve Lost Your SIM Card

How to Lock Down Your SIM
The most straightforward way to obtain someone’s SIM card would be to steal the actual card. Once the thief then places the card into their device, they would begin to receive all of your phone calls, text messages, and other associated data. If you once felt your Google account was protected by an SMS two-factor authentication code, bad news — your attacker now has access too. To defend against this type of cyberattack, you can opt to lock your SIM card with a pin number to prevent tampering.

Secure Your Cellular Account
However, we mentioned that someone could gain access to your phone number and efficiently take over your SIM card without being anywhere near your phone — how is this possible? One of the biggest scams currently circulating is for a hacker to call your phone provider, impersonate you, and have a new SIM card issued that they could utilize. However, cell carriers are identifying these scams and alerting their customers, such as TMobile recently did with a bulletin that was largely circulated.

The easiest way to protect your cellular account is to call your provider and tell them you wish to add a passcode to your account, which is separate from login details used for your provider’s website. This extra passcode prevents imposters from calling customer service and requesting a new SIM card because he or she would have to provide a password to access account details.

Have a Backup Solution
With these tips and tricks, your device should remain safe, but it also helps to have every layer of additional security in place. One precaution you could take advantage of is using dfndr security’s anti-theft feature, which allows you to prevent thieves from accessing your content. Once you notice your device is missing, you can use a computer to track, block, locate, or even erase all of your data remotely.

Try to take smart security steps. The best you can do is to set up a tight defense before you become a digital victim.